[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 69 (Thursday, April 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19949-19950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07488]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[CFDA Number: 93.612]


Notice for Public Comment on Administration for Native Americans' 
Program Policies and Procedures Relating to Social and Economic 
Development Strategies--Growing Organizations

AGENCY: Administration for Native Americans (ANA), Administration for 
Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS).

ACTION: Notice for public comment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 814 of the Native American Programs Act of 
1974 (NAPA), as amended, ANA is required to provide members of the 
public an opportunity to comment on proposed changes in interpretive 
rules and general statements of policy and to give notice of the 
proposed changes no less than 30 days before such changes become 
effective. In accordance with notice requirements of NAPA, ANA herein 
describes proposed interpretive rules and general statements of policy 
that relate to ANA's new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) in 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, Social and Economic Development Strategies--
Growing Organizations (SEDS-GO), (HHS-2020-ACF-ANA-NN-1837).

DATES: Comments are due by May 11, 2020. If ANA does not receive any 
significant comments within the 30-day comment period, ANA will proceed 
with the proposed changes in the respective published FOA. The FOA will 
serve as the final notice of these proposed changes.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Jean Hovland, Commissioner, 
Administration for Native Americans, 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 
20201 or via email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmelia Strickland, Director, 
Division of Program Operations, Administration for Native Americans, 
330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201. Telephone: (877) 922-9262; 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 814 of NAPA, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 
2992b-1) incorporates provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act 
that require ANA to provide notice of its proposed interpretive rules 
and statements of policy and to seek public comment on such proposals. 
This notice serves to fulfill the statutory notice and public comment 
requirement. ANA voluntarily includes rules of practice and procedures 
in this notice in an effort to be transparent. The proposed 
interpretive rules, statements of policy, and rules of ANA practice and 
procedure will appear in the FY 2020 SEDS-GO FOA.
    Synopses and application forms will be available on https://www.grants.gov.
    A. Interpretive rules, statements of policy, procedures, and 
practice. The proposals below reflect ANA's proposed changes in rules, 
policy, or procedure, which will take effect in the FY 2020 SEDS-GO 
FOA.

1. New FOA

    In FY 2020, ANA will introduce a new FOA as a special initiative 
under the Social and Economic Development Strategies program to support 
growing

[[Page 19950]]

organizations that have novice level experience with federal grants. 
The purpose of the SEDS-GO FOA is to provide financial assistance to 
tribes and Native American organizations with limited capacity, staff, 
and resources to compete for federal funding. The funding is to be used 
to enhance their internal capacity and infrastructure to better serve 
their members or their communities. Awards made under the FOA will have 
either a 12-, 24-, or 36-month project period with an award ceiling of 
$200,000, per budget period. Although it is not required to have a 3-
year project, the funding opportunity will allow the flexibility for 1 
year of planning and 2 years of project implementation. ANA is 
interested in funding eligible entities that have limited experience in 
managing federal grants due to their limited ability to prepare grant 
applications, administer projects, evaluate results, or have limited 
financial management capacity. Bonus points will be provided during the 
objective review process for applicants that have never received an ANA 
grant award. The SEDS-GO FOA will request potential applicants to 
submit a Letter of Intent within 30 days of its publication, but this 
is not mandatory. The application submission deadline will be 60 days 
from the date the SEDS-GO FOA is published.
    Applicants will identify up to two organizational challenges that 
will be addressed within the following program areas of interest: Staff 
Development; Governance; Effective Grants Management; Strategic/
Community Planning; Financial Management Systems; Use of Technology; 
Ability to Track and Manage Data; and Partnerships. The ANA Project 
Framework will not be applicable to SEDS-GO FOA. Applicants will 
identify up to two targeted challenges within the Program Areas of 
Interest; a Project Goal; Objectives that are Specific, Measurable, 
Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART); and an Indicator of 
change.
    ANA proposes the following Evaluation criteria scores for the SEDS-
GO FY 2020:

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           Evaluation criteria                 Maximum  point  values
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Approach, including Objectives...........  70 points.
Organizational Capacity..................  15 points.
Budget and Budget Justification..........  15 points.
Bonus Points.............................  5 points.
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    Bonus points will only be awarded if the applicant organization has 
never received an ANA grant award. Bonus points will not be awarded in 
a range--the application will either receive 0 or 5 points.
    All Administrative Policies included in ANA's other FY 2020 FOAs 
will be applicable to the SEDS-GO FOA.
    The following statements are applicable to the ANA Commissioner's 
discretion as part of the ANA internal review process for the selection 
of applications submitted in response to the SEDS-GO FOA:
    In exercising discretion in award selection, the Commissioner may 
choose not to fund a project if ANA has information outside the 
application that contradicts the justification for the need for the 
project. The Commissioner may choose not to fund any proposed project 
that is outside the scope of the listed program areas of interest. In 
addition, the Commissioner may choose not to fund a project from an 
applicant that has received more than two ANA grant awards within the 
last 10 years.
    Statutory Authority: Section 814 of the Native American Programs 
Act of 1974 (NAPA), as amended.

Elizabeth Leo,
Senior Grants Policy Specialist, Office of Administration, 
Administration for Children and Families.
[FR Doc. 2020-07488 Filed 4-8-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-34-P